Our first stop on the trip: Nashville, Tennessee. I loved it from the first GooGoo Cluster (sorry, no photo - I ate it too quickly).

We hit the The Loveless Cafe. It's an institution... and its own sense of its importance worried me: would our visit be a delicious tour through Tennessee's culinary byways, or merely a stop at a food-themed amusement park?

Here's your answer: The best fried chicken I've ever tasted. Biscuits with gravy - lip-smacking, and I'm not even "into" gravy. Hash brown casserole - still not sure what it is, except wonderful.

It doesn't stop there. Above, going clockwise: Heavenly cheese grits; Redeye gravy (made with coffee) and country ham; more Hash brown casserole.

And, to finish: Amazing banana pudding with homemade Nilla Wafers. Note the Sweet Tea in the background. I ordered mine half and half but it was still a little too sweet for my taste. I could see how a body could get used to it, though.

Mooner and Yours Truly in front of the lovely Loveless (no longer a motel).